Hi again Ms. Janie,
After sending you a few pictures of Beanies being flown in the skies over Saudi Arabia, you let me know that many of your readers responded and wanted to send Beanies to the men and woman who are proudly serving in this area.

Well, I contacted the American Red Cross here on the base to figure out a way we could do this. They would be more than happy to be the point of contact for people to donate some Beanies to in order to make them available to the people here. I just want your readers to understand that this is just for donating Beanies and not to have their personal Beanies flown on one of our planes and then returned to them. That would be a logistical nightmare from this end. The addresses below are strictly if someone would like to send a Beanie to any servicemember. All packages will arrive at the various Red Cross offices and will be distributed from there.

I was given addresses for the Red Cross offices here in Saudi, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Yes, American forces are still in all of these regions as well as many others around the world that people don't realize. A lot of these locations are less than desirable, but we have a job to do wherever we might be. What makes these deployments a little more bearable is knowing that the people back home are thinking of us and wishing us well. During these deployments, we're separated from our family and friends from a few weeks and up to a year or longer You wouldn't believe what a morale booster it is to realize that people back home, normally total strangers, have actually taken the time to write a simple letter or send a small token. Many of the young people here and at all the other locations have never been away before and it's especially hard for them. It doesn't take long for loneliness and boredom to set it. The Red Cross offices at these locations, who are staffed by wonderful volunteers, do their absolute best in trying to prevent this from happening. They sponsor many great programs and are an excellent point of contact for something of this nature.

Ms. Janie, you wrote in your letter that it's the people who make Beanie collecting what it is. The giving, caring attitude showed by your readers after I submitted two simple pictures is nothing less than amazing and proves that you are 100% correct. Unfortunately, we live in a day and age when society is consumed by itself and usually too busy to be concerned for others. It's nice to know that there are still a lot of people out there who will take the time and be considerate of others. Your readers are definite proof of this.

In addition to sending Beanies, you can also use these addresses to write a letter or send a quick note. Just make sure the first line of the address reads: "To any servicemember." These letters are put in a common area in the Red Cross office for anyone to take. These morale boosting letters are especially important around the holiday seasons.
I'd like to take this opportunity to give my sincere thanks and appreciation to you and your readers for wanting to do something for us. I'm not a spokesman for the U.S. military, but I'm sure every man and woman at these locations who receives one of these Beanies being sent will thank you all too, whether it's by writing a thank you note to the person who sent it, or in their prayers.
Many, many thanks from the Land of Sand!
Let "Operation Beanie" begin!!!

Sincerely,
John Lewis

P.S. I've attached two more pictures of another Spangle being flown in a different aircraft. The first two I sent you were in an F-15. These ones are in an F-16 as he's being refueled.

SAUDI ARABIA (Prince Sultan Air Base)
American Red Cross
Attn: Station Manager
UNIT 70404 Box 4
APO AE 09882

KUWAIT (Camp Doha)
American Red Cross
Attn: Station Manager
HHC ARCENT-KU
Unit 6990
APO AE 09889

BOSNIA
American Red Cross
Attn: Station Manager
HHC 3rd ID (Tuzla Main, Eagle Base)
Operation Joint Forge
APO AE 09789

KOSOVO
American Red Cross
Attn: Station Manager
Task Force Falcon
Camp Bondsteel
APO AE 09340

or

American Red Cross
Attn: Station Manager
Task Force Falcon
Camp Monteith
APO AE 09340